Prophecies, Curses and Champions
by LadyV77
Summary: Sequel to "A Tale of Two Blades". The Champions of good gather and try to fulfill their destinies so Glory can be defeated. Rating for language and violence. (Mainly BtVS,Highlander,Witchblade, more inside)
1. Ch 1, pt 1

**Author's Note:** This story is part of a planned saga that began in the story "A Tale of Two Blades". I recommend you read it to familiarize yourself with what has happened with those characters so far, but it isn't strictly necessary. The first several chapters of this story will overlap that one at first, telling the story of Mara's entrance into the Sunnydale scene and her meeting Angel, which was hinted at in ATOTB. I'm still not quite sure how this story will work out as it has "parts" as opposed to just straight "chapters" at some points.

Rating is for violence and language. _Italics _signify thought, emphasis or vision. One row of Xs means change of POV, two mean change of scene, three signify beginning or end of a chapter.

For anyone who is wondering, the TV shows that will be included in the entire saga are (in alphabetical order) Angel, Beastmaster, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Angel, Highlander, Pretender, Stargate SG-1 and Witchblade. Movies include the Mummy movies (only a single character), Underworld and a cameo appearance of some characters from the Blade trilogy (actually just the first two movies). I think that's all of them, lol. See the end of this "chapter" for a "character and fandom summary". The first chapter has been split into two parts to accommodate the summary and will be continued immediately. Chapters **_will not_** ordinarily come two at a time.

**Disclaimer:** None of the characters you recognize (except OCs from ATOTB if you read that) belong to me; I am making no money off them and intend no disrespect. Any characters you don't recognize are mine. Please ask before you play with them.

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**Cemetery  
Sunnydale, CA  
Monday, July 23, 2001  
late at night**

Heavy grunting and the sounds of flesh striking flesh filled the night air. The voice of a young bleach-blonde woman announced, "I don't think so!" as a man's figure raced away from her with surprising speed. The girl quickly loaded a crossbow and fired a single shot. The man looked down at his chest, surprised to see an arrow sticking out of it, before promptly bursting into a cloud of dust.

Another young woman with shoulder length red hair appeared next to the first and said, "Way to go Buffy! That was a great shot."

Buffy looked at her companion and replied, "Willow, if I had known there would be no little ball of sunshine to come and dust him, I wouldn't have waited so long to do it myself."

Willow looked sheepish and began picking up a few strange items off the ground, "Sorry Buffy, Tara borrowed my newt eyes and I forgot I needed them for this spell. Lucky I remembered, or we might have been purple for a few days."

"Purple?" Buffy echoed and then shook her head in an 'I don't want to know' gesture.

She shoved her crossbow in her gym bag and began walking out of the cemetery with Willow, always on the alert for more baddies. But the last few nights had been pretty uneventful, and Buffy was beginning to worry. Things were usually only quiet near the Hellmouth right before something big happened. Big and bad; usually apocalyptic.

She had the feeling, though, that she and her friends had awhile to figure out exactly what was going on. And when she got a feeling like this one, she was almost always right. Just part of being the Slayer she supposed. She shuddered to think that Glory was most likely behind whatever was coming up, and she hurried her steps, eager to get home and check on Dawn. The teenager had become even more difficult since discovering that she was the Key Glory was so intent on possessing. Thank goodness Glory had yet to figure it out.

Willow had to jog to keep up with Buffy, and she called out for Buffy to wait a second while she picked up a book she had dropped from her backpack. As she walked to where Buffy was waiting, a strange blue light formed at eye level a few feet away from them.

The tip of a sword appeared through the light and then swung down, creating what looked like a tear of blue light in the night air. Buffy quickly retrieved her ax out of her bag and took up a ready stance. The tear widened slightly and two hands appeared, pulling the tear open further. They could see a young woman on the other side, trying to hold the tear open and step through at the same time.

Considering that she was wearing a black business suit with a long, tight skirt, she was doing pretty well. Obviously getting frustrated, she grumbled something under her breath and stood back slightly, focusing on Willow and Buffy for the first time. She frowned at their jeans and T-shirts, but shrugged her shoulders. The fabric of her suit seemed to come alive then and it shrank and swirled until she too was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, both solid black. A booming roar sounded through the tear and the woman looked over her shoulder and shouted something in a language Willow couldn't place.

Peering into the opening still hanging in the night air, Willow gasped at the sight of a full sized Dragon hovering in the daylight sky behind the woman. The woman smiled at the expression on Willow's face, and, tossing a wave over her shoulder to the dragon, she stepped through the tear unencumbered. Seeing Buffy's ax, now clasped only loosely, she drew the sword that had been the first thing the pair had seen come through the tear. It took a moment for Willow to realize that she had drawn it seemingly out of thin air. What kind of powers did this woman have?

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**Second Author's Note:** Yes, I know that was short, but I will be posting the second part momentarily. The following is each fandom and what characters will be in the story and in what part of the show's timeline the story takes place. Everyone is free to email me with questions, especially if a show you don't watch is listed and you need some background info on characters (spideegrrl77 AT yahoo DOT com).

**_TV Shows_**

**Angel:** Several months after coming back from Pylea, but no Cordy/Angel romance and Connor never existed as it has yet to have been revealed that Darla was what Wolfram and Hart brought back. Lyndsey is gone by choice (for now), and was never infatuated with the ex-vampire. Characters: Angel (a vampire with a soul, a Champion for good), Faith (a Slayer, out of prisoner, the story of which will be told in flashback form), Lorne (a good guy demon from Pylea who can read others' auras when they sing), Winifred "Fred" Burkle (human, was stuck in Pylea as a runaway slave for five years, still getting used to freedom and being back on earth), Wesley Wyndham Price (human, ex-Watcher, extensive book knowledge, not bad at physical combat after being in the field so long), Charles Gunn (human, very good fighter, used to lead a street gang that hunted vamps and demons, had to stake his own sister when she was turned), Cordelia Chase (human, but gifted with Sight when her half-demon almost boyfriend, Doyle, gave his life to save she, Angel and a group of good demons, was Princess of Pylea for a short time due to her gift), the Groosalug (or "Gru" as he's called, in love with Cordelia, half-demon, great fighter, currently in Pylea trying to help establish the new order), Lila Morgan (head of Special Projects for Wolfram Hart, an evil law firm, took Lyndsey McDonald's place when he left, in charge of trying to make sure Angel is on the side of evil in the final battle), the Oracles (blue and gold chick and dude, messengers of the PTB) and a few surprise guests. No original characters that are strictly from this fandom except random vamps, demons and human flunkies of Wolfram and Hart.

**Beastmaster:** Takes place after the end of the series, but Dar has been given immortality (by Koorapira for saving her) and has long since left the "kingdom" he and his family were sent to. Characters: Dar (the Beastmaster, can talk to animals), Koorapira (the "good" demon who gave Dar his powers, she presides over the forests and animals), Sharak (still-cursed immortal sorceror-turned-hawk), and the Sorceress (Sharak's love, wants to make him "human" again so they can be together, has no name, I may give her one). "Original" characters: Rune, a white tiger descended from Ru, one of Dar's original animal friends, and Kodo and Podo, ferrets descended from the original ferrets of the same names. Truly original characters: Lissa (Dar's wife and a shape-shifter) and Kai (their young son).

**Buffy the Vampire Slayer:** Sunnydale will be the main location for the beginning of this story. As far as timeline goes, Glory is alive and kicking; she has not yet discovered who the Key is. Riley has left and Joyce is dead. Characters include Buffy Summers (Vampire Slayer, former love of Angel), Dawn Summers (the Key to another dimension in the form of a teenage girl), Spike (vampire with a chip in his head that does not allow him to hurt humans, at this point in time, Spike has not tried to get a soul, a bit obsessed with Buffy), Rupert Giles (called by his last name, ex-Watcher who still tries to guide Buffy and cares very deeply for her), Willow Rosenburg (red-headed witch, one of two original "Scoobies" who helped Buffy in high school and continue to do so), Oz (if anyone knows his last name, please let me know, cuz I cannot remember for the life of me, werewolf, boyfriend of Willow, never left or cheated on Willow in my story), Tara McKay (another witch, good friends with Willow, soft spoken), Alexander "Xander" Harris (the other original "Scoobie", currently dating Anya, though he's always had a thing for Buffy), Anyanka (also known as "Anya", blunt speaking ex-vengeance demon and girlfriend of Xander), Glory/Ben (Glorificus, a powerful demon god banished from her own dimension and forced to share time with the mortal man Ben, needs the Key to get home, doesn't know that using the Key will cause all dimensions to collide and the universe to end) and Pike (mortal from the movie, ex-boyfriend of Buffy, has been hunting vamps since his best friend was turned). No original characters that are strictly from this fandom except random vamps, demons and humans.

**Dark Angel:** no characters yet, except for the fact that Susanna Irons (see original character list for Witchblade) is part transgenic. More of this fandom will be explored in future sequels.

**Highlander:** Anywhere in the series after Duncan has defeated the demon Ahriman, Richie is dead, as is Fitz. Does not include the movie "Endgame" as it went totally against canon. Characters: Duncan McLeod (a Scottish Highlander Immortal, "cousin" of Connor, Champion for good, a little over 500 years old), Joe Dawson (Duncan's Watcher and friend, mortal, only one leg from Vietnam), Connor McLeod (another Scottish Highlander Immortal, actually somewhere near 50 or so year older than Duncan), Methos (the "oldest living Immortal"… Not, hehe!… stays out of the game unless Duncan needs him, 5,000 years old with a colorful past, also poses as mortal Watcher Adam Pierson), and Amanda (Immortal thief, originally from England, I believe, on-again off-again lover of Duncan's). Original characters: lol, gotta week? Dagan and Malia, deceased third and fourth Immortals who were given mortality twelve thousand years ago as a reward for service to good. Their (Immortal) children (who were instrumental in the creation of the Realms of Magic): Eve (powers of healing, creation and destruction (a touch from her left hand kills), twin of Asha), Asha (twin of Eve, healing abilities), Mikel (can pass as a Faerie, lives among them as the Queen's consort), Trin (deceased Immortal, lost her head in French Revolution, co-founder of the Watchers), Tane (triplet with Trin and a mortal sibling, male Immortal who can read minds), Lana (Immortal with no special powers, travels with Ares, Olympian guardian of war), Klea (talented herbologist) and Mara (the most powerful Sorceress of all time, created Avalon on her own, wielder of Excalibur, can heal through the magic of taking another's wounds onto herself). Other original characters: Arinne (adopted Immortal daughter of Asha and a non-original character, this woman has many secrets, has only ever had one student), Hunter (once known as Attila the Hun… so not totally an OC, so sue me… Immortal, former student of Arinne), Vidge (female Immortal, current student of Hunter), and Zara (female Immortal with several secrets of her own).

**Pretender:** After the show and the first movie, but ignoring the Island of the Haunted. Characters are grouped in "logical fashion". Jarod (a full Pretender with the ability to be anyone he wants to be, escaped from the Centre several years ago, still looking for his family). Miss Parker (childhood friend of Jarod, now forced to hunt him, though she has ignored it most of her life she has the Inner Voices, the ability to communicate with the dead), Dr. Sydney Green (Jarod's Keeper from the time he was a very young boy, one of Miss Parker's team, his twin Jacob died after being in a coma for a very long time), Broots (computer genius, afraid of Miss Parker, as helped and been helped by Jarod, has a daughter named Debbie who likes and is liked by Miss Parker) and Angelo (once known as Timmy, now an empath, is the leak that feeds Jarod info from inside the Centre). Ethan Jamison (son of Miss Parker's mother and Jarod's father by artificial insemination, is a Pretender and has the Inner Voices stronger than his sister, was driven a bit nuts by his Keeper, Raines). Kyle (Jarod's full brother, another Pretender Raines tried to turn into an assassin, now deceased) and Catherine Jamison Parker (deceased, now Witchblade guardian of her other son, Christian Nottingham and his wife Lily, had the Inner Voices). Major Charles (Jarod's father, was in Air Force, may also be a Pretender, last seen with "the boy" and Emily), Emily (Jarod's sister (and Sara Pezzini's fraternal twin, see Witchblade), has at least Pretender potential) and "the boy" (Jarod's "clone", I'm changing his story a bit in this one). Mr. Parker (may or may not be Miss Parker's father, a higher-up in the Centre, has shown a willingness to sacrifice even Miss P, who he claims to love, in order to get what he wants), Mr. Raines (once "Dr. Raines", needs oxygen tank to breath, evil incarnate, has tried to kill many people, did kill Catherine and was the original cause of Jacob going into a coma), Mr. Lyle (also exceedingly evil, killed his wife and is a cannibal, has killed numerous innocents, killed Kyle) and Willie (Raines' right hand goon). Original characters: Demona (a Pretender with pyrokinetic abilities… ever wondered who started the fire on SL-27?… she is now held on SL-12 in a special water tank) and various other random people inside the Centre.

**Stargate SG-1:** the Stargate itself (an ancient device that connects different planets together via wormhole) will be hinted at, but characters will not be seen until a different part of the overall saga.

**Witchblade:** best to read ATOTB to figure out where in the timeline it is, but mostly Season One. Sara and Jake are paired (for now, evil laugh); Sara is pregnant with Jake's son (it was also covered in ATOTB that Sara is the sister of Jarod (from Pretender). Kenneth Irons will be involved; he is also the head of the Centre's Triumverate (Pretender fandom) in my story and has a history with those characters that has not yet been fully explored. Danny Wu is alive but will only be mentioned as far as I have planned at this point. Maria Bouzani (Sara's dead call girl friend) is Sara's Witchblade Guardian. Lazar may make an occasional appearance. Gabriel Bowman, being endangered in ATOTB, will be seen in Los Angeles, staying with the Fang Gang from Angel. Christian "Ian" Nottingham is now a Witchblade Wielder, freed of Irons and married to Sara and Jake's daughter from another timeline: my original character Lilianna McCartey Nottingham. Their Witchblade Guardian is Catherine Parker, a character from Pretender, who happens to be Christian's mother. Other OCs in this fandom: Susanna Irons (daughter of Kenneth Irons and Sara Pezzini from yet another timeline, a false Witchblade Wielder, Irons does not yet know she exists), Bast (a cat who is more than she appears, "owned" by the Nottinghams), Akantha (Christian and Lily's Guide in the Witchblade Realm), Jonathan Nottingham (Christian's father, who we may or may not meet in this story) and the Lieutenant (Irons' bodyguard now that Nottingham is free).

**_Movies_**

**Blade (one and two):** cameo appearance of two characters will be in the sequel to this story entitled "A Year And A Day".

**Mummy movies:** only Ardeth Bay. Between the two movies the PTB granted him immortality (though he can be killed) in return for his service to good. So he looks about the age he was in the movies.

**Underworld:** None of the characters will appear in this story; that will be in a future part.

**X-Men movies:** couple of the characters will be in future parts, but not this story.

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To help ease confusion a bit, the following are summaries of different types of beings. After that is a summary of specific groups that may be mentioned in this story.

**_Type of Being Summaries_**

**Demon:** Various beings that aren't human, though some appear to be (not all non-humans are demons, of course). Not all demons are evil, though most are. They inhabit this dimension and others, occasionally crossing over where they don't belong to wreck havoc on other dimensions.

**Vampire Slayer:** Originally simply the Slayer, created to fight evil, though later interference from the Watchers turned their attention mostly to demons, vampires in particular. One girl at a time, the next is called when her predecessor dies. Enhanced strength and senses at birth that become fully enhanced when she is called. The Slayer is always young, and most die within a couple years of being called, some lasting as little as a day.

**Child of Lillith:** The first type of "vampire" to exist. The drinking of blood is part of a mating ritual, though some have been known to become evil and drink when it isn't necessary. The Children of Lillith have souls, can walk in daylight (though they are slightly weaker during the day) and are immortal, but they can be killed in any fashion that a human can (except disease). They can have Children of their own and can turn some humans. They are stronger, faster and have more enhanced senses than humans. Some can fly or are shape-shifters (these are usually limited to wolves or bats, feeding into the mythology of vampires).

**Vampire (Pure Blood variety):** Former Children of Lillith who have turned to evil (and their descendants who are not allowed to know from whence they really came). Not all Pure Bloods who are born of other Pure Bloods are evil, some choose to do good, same for the Equals. Their bite has become poisonous, allowing them to create vampires of the demon possession variety to serve them. It has occasionally been known for Pure Bloods to make an Equal, a vampire that retains the soul and mind it had as a human while gaining all the abilities and weaknesses of the one who turned it. Pure Bloods can still give birth, but in return they eventually grow old and die (couple thousand year life span). Other than that, they have the same weaknesses as other vampires, unable to walk in sunlight, etc. They don't turn to dust when they die however, unless sunlight or an equally powerful force is involved. Vlad Dracul is a Pure Blood Equal, turned by a former Child of Lillith. The older the Pure Bloods get, the stronger they become. Pure Blood Equals cannot give birth or create other Equals.

**Vampire (demon possession variety):** The type of vampire that is dusted when it dies, no matter how it dies. Decapitation or staking will do it, holy water burns, sunlight is fatal, fire as well. There are levels: Sire, Childe and flunkie (sorry, no technical term for them), all immortal. A Sire starts out as a Childe, but when he or she sires Childe-ren of their own, they become a Sire. A Childe is given a great amount of blood, enough to make them the equal (or very close to it) of their Sire. A flunkie, on the other hand, is only given enough to be turned. Turning involves a demon taking possession of a body as the soul that inhabits it dies. Once the demon essence takes complete control, it "wakes up" thus giving the impression of rising from the dead. This is not to be confused with Zombies, who take possession after the body has already been vacated. Demon possession vampires have enhanced strength, speed and senses, occasionally they have other powers.

**Werewolf:** Werewolves can be immortal or mortal, but they all result from a bite or are born from someone who has been bitten. The first werewolf came of a Child of Lillith biting a human while in wolf form during the full moon. Werewolves who do not fully accept their supernatural abilities are cursed to change uncontrollably during the full moon cycle into a half human half wolf form. Those who fully accept what they now are can fully transform from human to wolf at will though they must change during the full moon to maintain control. Differing levels of acceptance produce different levels of abilities and control, some retain wolf senses in human form. A werewolf is not necessarily evil, but they can be, as can any being.

**Lycan:** A clan of immortal werewolves who hunt humans and were once enslaved by Pure Blood vampires. Most can change form (half man half beast) even when the moon isn't full (or even out for that matter).

**Hunter (natural or learned):** A being who hunts another (or the same) type of being, some hunt good, some hunt evil. Hunters can be born with special abilities or earn or gain them. Some don't have special powers, rather they hunt as a calling. Some of these non-powered Hunters hunt anything supernatural, good or evil.

**Immortal (always capitalized):** A being (human looking) that will live forever, never aging, once it has suffered a violent first death. Immortals cannot have children, even if they never become Immortal but die of old age instead. Immortals can be killed, they simply wake up later. Once their head is severed from their body, however, there is no coming back, and their Quickening, the sum of all their power, age and knowledge, is passed to the one who killed them (or the nearest Immortal if killed by something else). Immortals can sense each other through an Awareness headache, which dims to just a hum after eye contact. They can also sense Immortals to be, which are sometimes called Immies. The first Immortal was created as a companion (daughter) for Cain during his travels. Others followed, meant to do great good with knowledge retained from former ages of the world. Around 2,000 BC, a curse was put on these beings (don't know by who yet) for them to kill each other off until there was only One left, and that One would receive the Prize. No one knows what the Prize is, but supposedly it's fantastic. Immortals cannot fight on holy ground (though it has happened a couple times before, Pompeii for one), and the fights are one on one (no interference). When someone first becomes Immortal, if they're lucky, an older Immortal finds them and teaches them everything they need to know. Some never learn before another Immortal takes their head. The Gathering is supposed to be the big final battle, but it already happened once thousands of years ago and because there were those who did not wish to fight each other, it wasn't the final battle after all. But another will come, and "In the end there can be only One."

**immortal (only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence): **A being that will live forever, barring complications. Some can be killed, some cannot. Some are blessed, some born, some cursed.

**Dragon:** An immortal being with two forms. Their human form is the one used for everyday activities (and the reproductive state). Their warrior form is a large, flying creature. The main color of the warrior form is taken from the human form's hair color (meaning green dragons have green hair in human form) and the secondary (underbelly) color is taken from the human form's eye color. Dragons mate for life. Mating occurs when a Dragon kisses a member of the opposite sex, be they Dragon or not. In very rare instances, other beings have become Dragons. All Dragons breathe fire and can, to a degree, control it, but there are different types. Healing fire and destructive fire are the two main types. There is very little that can withstand the power of pure destructive fire. One other type is forging fire, which is used to make magical weapons and Dragoncloth (a magic cloth that takes whatever shape it's wearer wishes).

**Faerie:** An immortal being with magical abilities tied to nature. Faeries have wings and are slightly taller than the average human. They are usually fair-haired. They have been lead by a Queen and her consort for nearly twelve thousand years.

**Shape-shifter:** There are five types of shape-shifter. The first can only turn into other people. The second, only into animals. The third can become any human or animal. The fourth is limited to a single animal. The fifth, and most rare, can become anything at all.

**Beastmaster:** A slight misnomer. The Beastmaster communicates with all animals, but does not command them. Some are given this power (such as Dar), while others have it as a natural gift (these are not _the_ Beastmaster however).

**Witch (natural):** Born spellcasters with a limited number of abilities (usually one or two special powers), Witches get their powers from their ancestors, though the knowledge and power can skip generations at a time. Natural Witches are limited in their abilities and cannot use their power for personal gain. These Witches occasionally form covens with other naturals and sometimes with learned Witches as well. Some have been known to turn evil.

**Witch (learned):** Most mortals have the capacity to learn small magics, those that do are learned Witches, some of whom learn from natural Witches and are in covens with same. Again, there are evil ones out there.

**Sorcerer/Sorceress:** A being whose essence is magic, these people are often immortal, though some are born to mortals and therefore live a normal human lifespan. Merlin is an immortal sorcerer.

**Pretender:** A genius with the ability to become anyone they want to be. In other words, people (mortal humans) with the advanced intellect to be able to not only photographically memorize things, but to understand them as well, enabling them to be chameleon like in abilities instead of looks.

**Inner Voices:** The ability to communicate with those who have passed on, to hear them as they try to guide the living.

**Psychic Imager:** Someone who can create realistic images with their minds, the most powerful can make others believe that what they see is real, even so far as tasting, smelling, and feeling the image in addition to seeing and hearing it.

**Telepath:** A being who can read and sometimes manipulate the minds of others.

**Telekinetic:** A being (human or otherwise) who can move things with their mind. There are many levels of strength of this ability, some can create a physical presence out of nothing, others can astral project, while still others may have difficulty moving a pencil a few inches.

**Pyrokinetic:** A telekinetic who can control and manipulate fire, some can even create fire with their minds.

**Empath:** A being who can read the emotions of another.

**Mutant (genetic manipulation variety):** A person born "normal" who has had their genetic structure scientifically altered, resulting in new abilities whether accidental or done on purpose.

**Mutant (natural variety):** A mutant born to normal human parents or some combination of human and mutant parents. Thought by most to be evolutionary steps forward that occurred suddenly instead of over generations, mutants are simply humans with special abilities that show up in their DNA as the so-called "X gene". Most have human lifespans, though others may be immortal.

**Transgenic:** Test tube babies altered on the genetic level using human and animal DNA before insertion into a human surrogate. The ones that are too heavily animal and look it are called Transhumans.

**Olympians:** Immortals (not capitalized unless at the beginning of a sentence as here) who in ancient times were charged with guarding certain facets of human life, like love, war, wisdom, the perception of nature, etc. They can be killed, and many of them have been, some by their own hand. Were once worshipped (and punished for it). Other beings can become Olympians by consuming ambrosia.

**_Organization summaries_**

**Illuminati:** The name given to various secret societies, most of which are groups of highly intelligent, wealthy people who want to control the fate of the world, not always for the better. Some factions are collectors, keeping safe ancient, and sometimes magical, artifacts. Others are purely in it for the wealth and power. The Illuminati are currently in possession of one of the five Stargates of earth, the one formerly located in Norway. Their symbol is an eye within a shining pyramid.

**Order of Taraka:** A cross between a union and a managing team for assassins. The Order of Taraka approaches assassins of a certain caliber and offers them membership. Members are sent business based on their personal style and preferences. The Order has many connections, good and bad, human and otherwise, that are available to all members. Some members wear rings. Members were once sent after Buffy Summers. Susanna Irons is a member.

**The Brotherhood: **(a.k.a. - the Snake Cult, the Breeding Cult) An ancient breeding cult (at least 5,000 years old) bent on taking over the planet when a disaster of some sort will wipe out most ordinary humans (seems to follow the crashing of a comet). Through selective breeding, their members have become super-human in strength and they feel no pain, though some of them get migraines, a defect that comes, perhaps, from being too selective. Their members are known as Familiars. Their symbol is snakes wrapped around a long cross in a double helix pattern, a symbol traditionally linked to the medical profession.

**Manticore:** The result of the initial combining of two groups, the government-funded Super Soldier Project and a team of Brotherhood defectors led by Dr. Sandeman. Sandeman's desire was to create a transgenic who could carry the cure to the plague the Brotherhood planned on releasing against the humans that survived the coming disaster. But he couldn't do it at all without massive funding, so he agreed to help create Super Soldiers, this time from scratch (the SS Project was also run in New York, enhancing grown men who were already military). Unfortunately, the military gained more and more control over Manticore, and when the Pulse hit, Sandeman fled. His pet project had escaped, and there was no more use for him now that others knew the procedures he used. He left before he could be eliminated. Most of the people at Manticore (with the exception of Madame X/Renfro) have no knowledge of the Brotherhood and Sandeman's true purpose.

**The Initiative:** Government run and funded (though they do have a few private investors), the Initiative has many branches in the US and elsewhere. The Initiative captures and studies supernatural beings in order to gain power, only destroying something they've captured when it is of no more use to them.

**Wolfram Hart:** This entity has many branches around the world and in other dimensions. A law firm (in the case of the Los Angeles branch) with some normal clients, Wolfram Hart represents evil and is run by mysterious and powerful evil beings known simply as the Senior Partners. Besides taking care of business for their clients, Wolfram Hart's main purpose is to make sure their side wins in the final Apocalypse.

**Watchers (Vampire Slayer variety):** Originally called "Guides," the Watchers changed their name in the thirteenth century when they took themselves out of the battle against evil, forcing the Slayer to work on her own. Guides would receive a calling at a young age, and what they needed to learn would come to them. When they changed what they called themselves and the Watchers' Council was formed, the Powers That Be, not liking the bureaucratic beings the Watchers had become, stopped calling new ones, letting it become a "family business." The Slayer was now left to fend mostly for herself, and the expected life span of the Slayer shortened by a good five years. The most recent Guide to have a Slayer was Buffy Summer's first "Watcher" Merrick. Before that it had been hundreds of years.

**Watchers (Immortal variety):** Most of the Watchers don't know their real history. Watchers observe and record the actions of the Immortal race, but aren't allowed to interfere, though this rule is known to have been broken many times. The Watchers were actually formed in the fifth century by two Immortals, Trin and Asha, so that the world would learn the history of the Immortal race when only one was left. Trin lost her head in the French Revolution, but Asha and other members of her family occasionally masquerade as mortal Watchers to clean up messes left by misguided and sometimes evil humans, including the faction known as Hunters.


	2. Ch 1, pt 2

**Author's Note:**_Italics _signify thought, emphasis or vision. One row of Xs means change of POV, two mean change of scene, and three signify the beginning of a chapter (or end when there is a final note).

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The woman said something then and Willow could tell from her inflection that whatever she had said had been a question. But the language was unfamiliar to her, sounding slightly like Latin. Seeing the two girls puzzled expressions, the stranger tried another language, "Où suis-je? Quelle année est ceci?"

From her four years of high school French, Willow managed to piece together what she hoped would be a figurative white flag, "Paix! Nous vous voulons dire aucun mal. Parlez-vous anglais?"

"Merci, mon ami. Vous êtes une sorcière, n'est-ce pas? Elle est la tueuse, non?" When Willow frowned, her forehead wrinkling in concentration to try to translate what the woman had said, the stranger spoke again, "Ah, je suis désolé, je presque ai oublié déjà!" Then she switched to English, "I'm terribly sorry, when I left Earth, I left from France, but obviously I'm not there."

"Obviously," retorted Buffy.

The stranger frowned at the hostility in Buffy's voice, and Willow almost asked her friend what was bothering her.

Instead, she asked, "When did you leave Earth? And where were you?"

"First, let me ask my questions again, in English this time. Where is this, what year is it, are you a witch, and she is the Slayer, no?"

Willow looked surprised but answered, "My name is Willow, and yes, I'm a novice witch, and Buffy _is_ one of the two current Slayers…"

"Two? How? There is only supposed to be one at a time."

"Well, she died once by drowning, but she was resuscitated. But since she had technically been dead, the next Slayer had already been called."

"Fascinating, I always wondered what would happen if the Slayer was revived after death. Please, continue."

"The year is 2001, and we're in Sunnydale, California, on the west coast of America."

The stranger's face drained of all color and she took a deep, shuddering breath. "We're in the colonies? The new world...er...America has certainly changed. Mon Dieu. I have been gone for more than two hundred years!"

"How old are you?" asked Willow. "Obviously you're not a vampire since you came from a place that was in daylight."

Buffy suddenly straightened as if just awakening from a spell and pushed Willow back out of the way. "I don't care how old you are. What are you? And how did you know I'm the Slayer?"

"I can sense Slayers, it's one of my gifts. Why are you threatening me? Your friend said you meant me no harm. And as for what I am, my kind is called Immortal. We have no other name, though I can tell you we are much closer to human than to any type of demon. As for Willow's question, I am very nearly twelve thousand years old, and my name is Mara."

Both girls paled, and Willow squeaked, "Twelve thousand?"

At that moment a car drove passed and Mara paled once more. "Mon Dieu."

Willow made a decision then and stood in front of Buffy once more. When her friend tried to again push her back, she stepped out of reach.

"I don't know why, but I feel connected to you. Are you a witch, too?"

Mara smiled, flashing perfectly straight white teeth. "No, but I am a sorceress."

"What's the difference?" Buffy muttered.

Answering Buffy but looking at Willow, Mara replied, "A sorceress must learn under a master, and be born with power, but a witch teaches herself or learns in a coven and doesn't necessarily have to have any natural talent, though I can sense that you have a great deal."

"Could you teach me?" Willow asked, awestruck.

"Unfortunately, I am not a master, though I could certainly ask Merlin if he would be willing to take you on."

"_The_ Merlin?" It was Willow's turn to pale again.

"Is there more than one?" Mara asked teasingly, but another car drove past and she blanched again.

Taking pity on her, Willow linked arms with her companionably and asked, "Can you teleport?"

"Teleport? Oh, you mean shimmer. Yes, I can. Where shall we go?"

Wanting to test Mara's powers, Willow said, "Well, Buffy needs to get home, and you and I can talk some more at the Magic Box. There won't be any cars there, and Giles is going to want to meet you."

Barely had she said the words when she realized she was now standing in Giles' store. Giles, sitting at the table they used for research and sorting the contents of a shipping box, let out a very undignified squeak and stood quickly.

Excitedly, Willow hugged her mentor and pulled him over to meet Mara, "This is Mara, she's a twelve thousand year old sorceress and she trained under Merlin!"

The usually quite proper English gentleman stuck out a hand and whispered, "Oh my," at the feeling of power coursing through Mara's body when they clasped wrists in the old way of greeting.

Willow's cat, Miss Kitty, who spent most of her time sitting on Giles' paperwork everyday, came over to investigate, sniffing daintily at Mara's boots. Willow noticed that they were old fashioned, soft leather shaped to their owner's specific shape, and wrapped with leather ties, crisscrossing in an intricate pattern. Though they were very well made and seemed right on Mara somehow, they were an incongruous sight with the black jeans and T-shirt. Just then the phone rang and Willow picked it up.

"Magic Box. This is Willow, how can I help you?" She listened for a moment and then said, "Buffy, slow down, she didn't hurt anyone, she was just trying to help, I'll call you later when I know more."

"Buffy's home," she announced unnecessarily when she hung up the phone a moment later.

Amazed, she noticed that Mara had again changed her attire. Now she was wearing form-fitting black pants and a halter style top that exposed a trim stomach and crossed over one shoulder. On the opposite arm was a plain black leather band. A belt with built in pouches hung low on her hips and her black hair falling loosely in waves to her waist. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, and her brilliant blue eyes contrasted sharply with her black hair and attire. Mara's sword had disappeared again, but looking closely, Willow noticed a knife tucked into the side of each of her boots.

"I'm more at ease this way," Mara explained, "this was my everyday outfit while living with the Dragons."

Giles looked startled and Willow asked, "Why _were_ you living with Dragons?"

"She's a Guardian of the Realms." This came from Giles, and Willow frowned, completely lost, while Mara looked mildly surprised. "The Realms were created to keep magic creatures safe from evil and mankind when man began to hunt them thousands of years ago. Some entities are periodically asked to be a Guardian of the Realms, quite an honor actually, you have to already have fought evil and won and be considered special on top of that. They are allowed to pick a type of creature to live with and keep safe, though they actually protect all of them. How long were you a Guardian?"

"Actually I've been a Guardian twice. When the realms were first created, my sisters, brothers and I all helped make them, and get all magical creatures to safety. I was the first Guardian after I saved a family of Fairies from an evil mage. That first time, I was in the Realms for half a century before I had to leave. This last time, I was there for a little over two hundred years. I'd been there so long that no new Guardians were able to be chosen. I was asked to leave so others could have the honor too. Now I have a lot to catch up on." She looked at each of them warily for a moment. "If ask you a large favor, would you do it?"

Giles and Willow nodded, and Mara smiled.

"There is a way to share knowledge, and it would certainly help me understand the modern world better, but I would also learn everything about each of you. In return, you would learn the events of my life along with some of my knowledge. We won't learn each others feelings though, just observe what happened. Are you still open to it?"

"Yes." Both of them answered at once.

Mara smiled again and nodded. "Thank you both. Just sit down in a circle, or a triangle as it were, and join hands with your eyes closed and your minds clear and open. I'll do the rest."

Pushing the table to one side, all three sat down cross-legged on the floor, their knees all touching. A soft hum filled the air and peeking with one eye, Willow saw that Mara was glowing, the same blue that she had stepped through earlier the same night. Willow had read about the physical manifestation of powerful magic, and she realized that must be what she was seeing. Remembering Mara's request, she shut her eyes and let her mind relax.

Suddenly images filled her mind and she heard Giles gasp.

_Images of Mara as a very young girl filled her mind, and although she knew she couldn't feel the emotions of the scenes, she sensed the happiness of growing up in a large family from the young Mara. Somehow, she wasn't at all surprised that Mara was the second youngest of fifteen children. She could also somehow sense that some of them were different than the others from the time they were born. Mara was one of the ones that was different. Knowledge came to her soon enough that the "different" feeling she had about them meant they would become Immortals like Mara was in the present time. She wondered how, sure that she would learn soon enough. _

_The family had a fairly normal life as the children grew to young adulthood, considering the fact that their closest neighbors were Dragons, Fairies, Unicorns and Pixies. But then came a warring tribe of humans and several members of the family were struck down protecting the magical creatures they had grown up with. The ones that had been different from birth came back to life, gasping for air, but without a scratch on them. Mara was not among them, having been saved by a Pixie, and still physically younger than her modern self. Mara's oldest sister, Eve, now an Immortal, screamed in anguish when a mere touch from her left hand killed a tribesman who had been wounded and left behind. Her blond hair turned white and her amethyst eyes became black. Asha, Eve's identical twin and now also an Immortal, found her appearance changed to match, though her touch on a young man didn't do anything at first. _

_Then a faint yellow light began to glow under her open palm and the small wound she had been covering was healed almost instantly. Their mortal siblings lay still, and in anguish Asha tried to heal their fatal wounds. None of them moved and those who had not died began to weep, heart wrenching, vulnerable sounds. Eve got to her feet and approached the still body of their youngest brother, red-haired Jaleb. Tears falling silently from her obsidian eyes, she knelt beside the boy, only three years old, and placed her right hand on his small back. There was a sudden flash of white light that surrounded the two of them and when the light dissipated, Jaleb sat up and rubbed his eyes. With a startled cry, Eve clutched him to her with her right arm, careful to keep him away from her left arm. _

_After reassuring herself that he was alive and well, and kissing his little nose a few times, she moved on to their other mortal siblings, awakening each of them from the eternal slumber that had stolen their fire. After healing the mortals, she joined Asha moving through the magical creatures they had been protecting, healing smaller wounds and checking on all of them. When everyone was accounted for and healed, they all headed for the hollow hill where they made their summer home. Halfway there, Eve, who had been hanging back, careful not to touch anyone, suddenly collapsed. _

_Mikel, the oldest after Eve and Asha and an Immortal too, carefully poked Eve's left arm with a forefinger. When nothing happened, he scooped her up and carried her to the hill. It took ten days for Eve to wake up, during which time the other children learned their own history. Their parents, Dagan and Malia, had been Immortals who fought for good and fell desperately in love. They lived their lives together for a very long time, mourning the fact that they would never have children, as all Immortals were sterile. _

_When the couple saved a herd of Pegasi from being captured and sold to a Worsi demon, they had suddenly found themselves inside a strange hall with bright white light everywhere and two strange beings standing in the middle. They were a boy and a girl, with gold skin covered with blue swirls and symbols. Their speech was strange, but what they said made Dagan and Malia happier than they had ever imagined possible. They were to be allowed to have children as a special circumstance, not only for the good they had done, but for the good that their children, some destined to be Immortal and some mortal, would do. The only catch was that they would have to grow old and die. Neither one of them hesitated even an instant, agreeing immediately. _

_They were then told that none of their Immortal children would be regular Immortals, all having special powers that would give them great joy as well as great pain. Their oldest daughter was destined to have the greatest difficulty in her long life, but she would also have great power. With these warnings, the pair was sent back to where they had been taken from. That very night they began their lives as mortals, destined to be the only people to actually give birth to Immortals. No one knew where other Immortals came from, all of them being found as infants. Dagan and Malia shared with their children the rules of being Immortal. _

_Some were good and some evil, just like all other beings. Although they would never grow old or get sick, they could be killed by complete decapitation, after which the Immortal that killed them would gain the sum of their power and knowledge added to their own. Fighting was not permitted on holy ground, however. Nor could a fight be interrupted by another Immortal once begun. _

_When Eve finally did awaken, she was given a shorter version, with no mention of the hard life that had been foretold for her. The next morning she was gone. Mara's life continued within the context of her family, until she was the same age Asha and Eve had been when they came into their Immortality. That year the warring tribes banded together to try and conquer the creatures of Magic. In response, a council was held. Giles and Willow watched in amazement at the variety of creatures assembled, realizing that through Mara's knowledge, they could understand every language spoken there. _

_When the talks began about how to deal with the invading threat, Jaleb stepped forward, now a young man with a wife and child, and made a suggestion that his Immortal siblings come together and use their assorted powers to create Realms where creatures of all kinds would be safe and separate from the world of man. To accomplish such a large task, though, they would need Eve, who had not been seen since disappearing many years before. While this was being mulled over, the tribes attacked. _

_Throwing herself in front of a spear stabbed at Jaleb, Mara died her first death, the man who killed her immediately pulling the spear out to attack someone else. Seconds later, much faster than the others had awoken so long ago, she was on her feet, grabbing and using the same spear that had killed her to fight off the tribes. As she fought, she began to glow, blue light surrounding her in the shape of fire. When the spear in her hands was broken and the offending party lunged at Jaleb, who had been fighting by her side, Mara screamed in rage and the stick left in her hands was suddenly replaced by an ornate sword, the same one Willow recognized from earlier that night. _

_Both Giles and Willow realized that the sword must be extraordinary since swords were not invented until millennia later. Mara swung at the man going after Jaleb, cutting him almost in half. She was back amongst the fighting before he had even hit the ground, showing a skill with the sword that shocked Willow and Giles, which was amazing when they realized that among the three Slayers and numerous ancient entities they had known, not a single one could touch Mara's skill at fighting. As she fought, her sword, too, glowed and the blade shone with an almost blinding light. _

_Though the tribes quickly withdrew, heavy causalities had been afflicted on both sides, and a young dragon was now out of control, breathing fire in fright, both of his eyes having been punctured. The other dragons tried to help, but no one could get near him. They were preparing to kill him to keep everyone else safe when a stunningly beautiful man appeared suddenly next to Mara and told her to help the dragon. _

_Handing the man her sword, she walked through the dragon's fire, the clothes burning right off her body and falling to the ground as ash. As she walked a tattoo of a dragon in flight appeared on her back and a murmur arose among those watching. Murmuring softly as she reached the dragon's head, she laid a comforting hand on the side of the dragon's face and he stopped breathing fire. _

_The mysterious man moved to her side and wrapped his own cloak around her body. She looked up at him in wonder, as if just realizing what she had done. Reaching past her, the man healed the dragon's eyes. The young dragon thanked them both with a soft keening song. Moving away, Mara asked the man who he was. Giving the sword back to her, he replied that his name was Merlin and he was a sorcerer from the future, and that one of the Realms she and her siblings would make would be Avalon, the future sight of his birth. _

_He was only here to deliver the sword and show her how to find Eve, but they would meet again in the future. Looking down at the sword, Mara, and therefore Giles and Willow, saw the word Excalibur etched in gold right at the base of the blade where it met the hilt. Merlin then explained that to find Eve, Mara must rent the very fabric of space-time with Excalibur and step through to the place and time where Eve now resided. With that, Merlin disappeared from sight. _

_Concentrating on a mental image of Eve the last time she had seen her, Mara raised Excalibur and cut a blue streak into the air before her. Before she stepped through, Mikel approached her with some new clothing to put on. She smiled and slipped the simple garment on, then stepped through the rent. When she got through, she was inside a building the likes of which none of them had ever seen. The room she was in was huge, rivaling the interior of the cave she and her extended family lived in. Looking around, there were perhaps hundreds of women in revealing garments, soft cloth draping some of them, though the fabric was see-through. _

_The knowledge that they were seeing the inside of a real harem at once amused and disgusted Giles and Willow. At last they spotted Eve in a far corner of the room, two eunuchs standing on either side of her, curved swords in hand. Other guards in the room were already moving to catch Mara and she panicked for a moment. Then Eve, who had been looking in a different direction until now, saw her. As soon as she stood, a path instantly cleared for Eve to walk through, the women who had moved out of the way looking at her with terror in their eyes. _

_Never showing for an instant that their reaction to her meant anything at all, she made her way all the way across the room to stand just before Mara. Tears filled her obsidian eyes and she swept her sister into a fierce hug. Mara hugged back, thinking that Eve must have found a way to harness her power. When Eve took a step back to look at her, Mara noticed she was wearing a strange garment on her arm, like a detached sleeve that covered from shoulder to fingertips. Giles and Willow knew it was a glove of some kind, which Eve proceeded to explain to her younger sister. Though the eunuchs had abandoned the idea of going after Mara, the two sisters did have to get back to Mara's time. _

_Mara swung Excalibur once more and gently nudged Eve through the opening before going through herself. Their family waited on the other side, anxiously staring at the sister they hadn't seen in so long. Cautiously, they hugged her one by one. By the time Eve got to her parents, tears stained her face and the upper portion of her dress, and her eyes were completely bloodshot._

_The next morning a meeting was held with the leaders of each group of creatures to decide what the Realms would be. Each type of creature's Realm would be everything they needed, and each would be connected to the other. Only one of them would lead to earth, though. A lake nearby would be made to have an island in the middle of it, an island perpetually shrouded by mist, and any one stepping foot (or claw or what have you) on the middle of the island would be instantly transported to the beginning of the Realms. This doorway world would remain open to the real world until such a time that magic was no longer accepted at all, or until it was too dangerous for it to remain open. _

_The night before the big event, a young adult Faerie approached Mara (Giles and Willow were surprised to notice that Faeries were just as tall as humans, somewhat taller, actually, with a willowy grace any being would be proud of). He told her that his family had been kidnapped and that a dark mage was going to use them in a ritual to increase his powers. His parents, sisters and brothers were all being held half a day's ride away, but he was sure that a large group riding that way would alarm the mage and cause him to kill the Faeries ahead of schedule. _

_Mara went with him and defeated the mage with a burst of the magic she had just come to possess and did not yet know how to harness. The Faerie who had asked for her help bowed and introduced himself as Ti'en. His father, Mara soon realized, was one of the High Elders of Faerie. His mother was a renowned spell-caster. Shaking off a sense of impending doom, Mara brushed off his thanks and helped his family prepare for the journey back. The whole way back there were whispers among the Faeries and Mara grew more and more uneasy. They arrived just before dawn, and Mara went to her family's section of their cave to sleep at least a little before the ordeal ahead._

Sudden pain seared Willow, Giles and Mara, centered in their right shoulders. The connection was broken, and Willow opened her eyes to find Giles doing the same. The pain disappeared.

When Willow looked at Mara, she realized why they had felt it in the first place. Mara was pulling a crossbow bolt out of her right shoulder while creating a magical barrier around herself. Buffy stood a few feet away, reloading her crossbow while keeping her eyes on Mara.

As she pulled the crossbow bolt from her own flesh, Mara cried out in pain and the barrier wavered. Buffy took the opportunity to aim the now-loaded crossbow at the raven-haired sorceress.

"Buffy, no!"

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**Second Author's Note:** Just a "warning", there will be a bit of Buffy bashing for awhile, seeing as how it makes me mad that she's always whining, but her behavior will eventually be explained and the bashing will stop, because I really do love Buffy. Just don't expect it to be soon.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** _Italics _signify thought, emphasis or vision. One row of Xs means change of POV, two mean change of scene, and three signify the beginning of a chapter (or end when there is a final note).

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Willow was the one who screamed for the Slayer to stop attacking the sorceress, but Giles standing in the way of Buffy's shot was what stopped her.

"Giles, move!" Buffy demanded. "We've never met anyone who was that powerful with magic or that old, and the only ones who came close were all evil!"

"She's not evil," Giles soothed calmly. "You can see that Willow and I are both unharmed. Mara was simply showing us parts of her life so we could understand her better."

Buffy's frown deepened, but she lowered her crossbow. Mara got up from the floor and walked behind the store's counter. As if she had been around for years instead of minutes, Mara dropped the arrow that had pierced her shoulder into the box they used to store weapons that needed to be cleaned or fixed. Buffy watched her warily but stayed where she was.

Willow moved to her new friend to check on her shoulder. Mara stood still for the inspection, but Willow gasped as she realized it hadn't really been necessary. The wound was closing itself, what looked like tiny bolts of blue lightning arcing between the torn flesh as it closed.

"Amazing," Willow breathed. "Could you teach me how to do that?"

Mara chuckled lightly. "That isn't magic. It's part of being an Immortal."

"Oh," Willow responded.

After the wound was fully healed, goosebumps rose on Mara's skin, and the fabric of her clothes once more came alive and shifted into a long sleeved shirt.

"Is that part of being an Immortal as well?" Giles asked, waving with a hand to indicate her clothes.

"No, though it would certainly cut down on costs over the centuries if all Immortals had Dragoncloth." Mara laughed lightly, "Though most Immortals I know wouldn't be happy with a single color. Dragoncloth is a special material created by a combination of faerie magic and Dragon forge-fire. It comes in a variety of colors, usually depending on the Dragon whose fire was used to create it, but each piece must always remain one color. You have to have a certain amount of magical ability for Dragoncloth to obey you, but once it picks an owner, it's usually forever. It can range from lightweight and sheer to as strong and thick as armor, and changes in size from a handkerchief to a tent."

"Are you sure you're going to be safe with her?" Buffy suddenly asked Giles. When the older man nodded, Buffy continued. "I need to get home and reassure Dawnie. She must have thought it was very odd to see me running out of the house when she didn't even know I was home."

She glared at Mara during that last little part, but Mara simply ignored her.

"Night, Buffy!" Willow called as her friend left.

Giles smiled sheepishly at the Immortal when things were once again quiet. "I'm sorry about Buffy. She'll warm up to you. Shall we finish what we started?"

"I'm afraid it will have to wait," Mara replied apologetically. "Between all the excitement and the energy it took to leave the Realms the way I did and then everything that's happened since, I'm a bit worn out. And it takes a lot to share with people who don't have experience with that particular type of magic."

"It can wait," Willow assured her. "Are you sure you learned enough from us though?"

Mara smiled. "I got everything I can get."

"But we were less than two decades into your life," Giles remarked.

"Yes, but I _have_ done this before, and with people with much longer lives. By the time you were at the point where Eve and Asha became Immortal, I had already seen your full lives."

"Amazing."

Mara covered a yawn with one hand, the other going to one of the pouches at her waist. She pulled out a gold coin and held it out to Giles.

"Even when I left Earth these were out of date, but gold always holds some value. If you could buy this off of me, I could rent a room somewhere for the night. I have to find a way to contact the trustees of my estate, but it has to wait until at least morning."

Giles examined the coin before handing it back. "I don't have on hand anywhere near the value of that piece."

"Besides, you can just come stay at my apartment, as long as you don't mind the couch," Willow added.

"Don't you think you should talk with Oz before taking on a roommate, however temporary?"

Willow blinked in surprise at Mara's mention of Oz until she remembered that the sorceress knew all of her life story. "He'll be okay with it, don't worry."

"Then thank you, I think this could work out for the best," Mara responded.

"Goodnight, Mara," Giles said, adding to Willow, "Make sure to bring her with you when you come in tomorrow morning."

"I will."

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Oz was waiting up for Willow in the front room when she suddenly appeared in the room with a dark-haired stranger dressed all in black.

"Hello," he said calmly, though his eyes asked Willow what was going on.

"Oz, Mara," Willow introduced quickly. "Mara, Oz. I'll be right back."

Oz watched as Mara' eyes drifted to the corner of the room, where a pair a shackles was lying inside a large, sturdy cage.

"I, uh… sometimes I dogsit…" he tried to excuse, not wanting a new friend of Willow's to jump to the conclusion that they were into something kinky.

Mara smiled, humor lighting her blue eyes, before she responded, "I've never heard that euphemism for being a werewolf before."

The corners of Oz's mouth quirked upward briefly. So, the new friend was of the evil-fighting, supernatural-knowledge-possessing variety. He took his time to study her now that he knew, taking in her pale complexion, the kind of skin that burned but never tanned, and pitch black hair. Those features in and of themselves were eye-catching, but she was also very beautiful, with blue eyes that were almost startling in their intensity. Mara didn't preen at his attention, but neither did she fidget under his stare, making him think she was used to people staring.

"It was nice to meet you, Mara, but I have a gig to drive to first thing in the morning, so I'm gonna turn in. Tell Willow I'm in bed," Oz said.

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Mara nodded as Willow's boyfriend got up to leave the room. A minute later, Willow came back, carrying a set of sheets and a couple blankets. After assuring the tired witch that she would be able to make up the couch just fine on her own, Mara bid Willow goodnight. Mara made quick work of making the couch a usable temporary bed. Taking off her boots, she willed the Dragoncloth draping her body to become a lightweight, sleeveless nightgown.

Thoroughly exhausted and still wondering why Avalon had sent her here, Mara fell almost instantly to sleep when she lay down. She was awake again an hour before Oz got up to pack for his road trip. Mara stared at the ceiling as she replayed her dream and wondered what it meant. She had never met Angel, and yet he had been the star of her dream.

Though she had seen the vampire with a soul… and _without_ at one point… in Willow and Giles' life flashes, she knew the things she had seen in her dream, in Ireland in the late 1700s, could not be first hand knowledge from her new friends. So why had her dream been so vivid? If helping Angel, Liam in his mortal life she now knew, in some way was part of the reason she had not been able to choose her destination when leaving the Realms, why hadn't she been sent to Los Angeles instead of Sunnydale?

There was, of course, always the possibility that the dream was a fluke. Until something happened to prove that it was okay for her to leave, Mara needed to stay in Sunnydale. Some of Willow's more recent memories pushed at her mind, showing her the alpha class demon named Glorificus.

Maybe she already knew why she had been sent here.

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**Magic Box  
****Sunnydale, CA  
****Tuesday, July 24, 2001  
****morning**

Oz dropped Willow and Mara off at the Magic Box before going to pick up his band mates. Mara climbed from the vehicle first, letting Willow say her goodbyes to her boyfriend in private. She was once more dressed in black jeans and a t-shirt, not wanting to stand out any more than necessary.

Buffy and Giles were already inside when Mara walked in. Giles was unpacking a box at a circular table while Buffy sat a couple chairs away from him, occasionally picking up one of the items her former Watcher set down. Giles smiled when they both looked up to see her, Buffy ignoring Mara's presence once she saw who it was.

When Willow walked in shortly after, a couple that appeared to be in their early twenties accompanied her. The young man had dark brown hair and brown eyes, and was saying something to the shorter woman about the breakfast dishes. The woman's hair was too dark to be blonde but too light to be just brown. She was steadfastly ignoring her boyfriend, her eyes scanning Mara only briefly as she made a visual sweep of the store. Willow waved Mara over and made introductions that weren't really necessary for Mara since she knew everything Willow knew about the two.

"Mara, these are my friends, Xander and Anya. Guys, this is Mara."

Anya's eyes widened when she took a second look at Mara, and she made a choking noise. The ex-vengeance demon fell to her knees in seeming supplication.

"Please!" she said, loud enough to be heard by everyone, but just barely. "Don't destroy me, Lady of Avalon."

"Why would I do that?" Mara asked.

Anya shook as she regained her feet with the aid of Xander, who was glaring suspiciously at Mara. The raven-haired sorceress stared at the petite woman for a moment before the frown on her face eased.

"Anyanka, it's been, what, nine hundred years?" Mara greeted gently. "When Willow mentioned you, I thought it was odd that two vengeance demons could have the same name, but I didn't think it was actually you. You're very obviously human now, and you're evidently one of the Slayer's helpers. I'm not going to kill you."

With a heavy sigh of relief, Anya's face returned to its normal I'm-bored-but-I'm-here-what-else-do-you-want expression. She glanced around the room and noticed Buffy, Giles and the other Scoobies staring at them.

"She stopped me from destroying a whole village about nine hundred years ago," Anya explained her behavior nonchalantly. "Would have destroyed _me_, but she was called away to take out someone much worse and much more powerful. I heard through the underground later that she succeeded without any trouble. You tend not to forget something like that."

"And you don't think it's odd that she's still alive?" Buffy asked.

Mara shook her head in exasperation, and Willow barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Buffy's continuing insistence in thinking anything immortal and powerful must be evil.

Anya frowned. "Of course not. The Lady of Avalon is a sorceress, and most of them live thousands of years, if they're not outright immortal."

"Call me Mara," the sorceress in question insisted. "I don't use my titles very often."

The former demon nodded and none-too-gently nudged her boyfriend toward the other woman. Xander was still watching Mara suspiciously, but when she held out her hand, he shook it.

"Xander Harris," he introduced himself. "One of Buffy's original Scoobie gang."

Recognizing that the young man was declaring his allegiance, Mara suppressed a smile. "I understand you've been helping Buffy since she came to Sunnydale. It's an honor to meet someone who's helped save the world so many times."

Xander stood straighter, puffing out his chest with pride. Buffy snorted… Mara thought it was probably in derision of the apparent defection from 'her side'… and Xander deflated slightly. The dark haired young man turned toward Anya, giving her a light kiss.

"I have to get going, Ahn. You'll be okay, right?"

"Yes," Anya answered, heading for the cash register in the shop of magical talismans and spell supplies after having already flipped the sign on the door to read 'open' from the outside. "We will both work and make lots of lovely money."

Mara's eyebrows rose, but she noticed that no one else seemed the least bit surprised at the young woman's blunt way of speaking. Obviously they had gotten used to Anya's mannerism. Maybe it was a side effect of having lived so long as a demon. Mara inwardly shook her head. More likely it was Anya's way of dealing with being mortal. Most demons were not known for being honest, and vengeance demons used trickery and untruths to get their victims to make their wishes. Perhaps doing the opposite was one of the ways Anya tried to prove that her former life no longer had any power over her.

Xander said his goodbyes to everyone else and left. Willow and Anya began a quiet but animated argument near the back counter over whether or not a certain artifact was safe to sell to anyone but a serious practitioner of magic. Mara began to wander around the store, noting different things in her mind, especially more modern instruments that had replaced things she had used in past centuries. Giles was staring off into space until Buffy made a huffing noise, pulling him out of his distracted state.

"Shouldn't you be headed to work yourself?" the former Watcher asked.

Buffy huffed again, but nodded.

Giles moved toward the two young women who were still arguing over the gnarled dehydrated arm of some demon or other and pried the object away from them, locking it into a case behind the counter.

"Will Dawn be coming straight here after school?" Giles asked Buffy.

Buffy scowled in Mara's direction, who pretended not to notice, before answering, "No, she's going to go hang out with Spike until I get out of the staff meeting. Then I'll be taking her home until it's time to patrol. You won't need to watch her for me today."

"Alright," Giles responded easily. "Have a good day."

"She really doesn't like you, does she?" Anya asked as soon as Buffy was gone.

Mara shrugged eloquently, trailing a finger lightly over a display of crystals, some of them briefly flashing colors at her touch. "I suppose the amount of power I have makes her anxious, though I have known other Slayers and very few of them ever had a problem with me once they understood what I was."

"It's not about what you are at all," Anya said bluntly. "She's jealous."

Mara's eyebrows drew together in confusion, creating a dark 'v' over her clear blue eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You're very beautiful, and you're new to the group," Anya stated plainly. "That makes you a double threat to Buffy's position as the center of attention, especially when it comes to men. The fact that you are so powerful, and I doubt Buffy knows the extent of what you're capable of, just makes it convenient for her not to trust you. And the fact that you're not strictly human, well, she might use it to justify attacking you at some point."

Giles and Willow exchanged a look, and Anya shook her head.

"She already attacked you, didn't she?"

Mara smiled in dark humorand nodded. "It doesn't matter. She can't kill me, and if she needs a scapegoat, I'm willing to take the position of hated acquaintance. But as for romantic rival, you can assure her it would _never _happen."

Before any of them could ask Mara what she meant by that, a few customers arrived, successfully taking the attention of the storeowner and his two clerks. Mara settled at the table with a spell book written in Italian. She needed to wait for Giles to have a free moment so she could ask to borrow his phone and begin the process of tracking down where her family's financial advisors were currently headquartered. Even if she was stuck in Sunnydale until Avalon's mission for her became clear, Mara still needed to get herself acclimated to the current time period and stand on her own two feet. And that meant having access to at least some of her fortune.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**_Italics_ signify thought, emphasis or vision. One row of Xs means change of POV, two mean change of scene, and three signify the beginning of a chapter (or end when there is a final note).

I have more of an idea of what the timeline is now, so there should **not** be that long a gap between postings again. But, as Real Life has taught me (especially lately), never say never. I do intend to someday finish this story, however, because there are several sequels planned that I'd like to actually write. ;)

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**Magic Box  
Sunnydale, CA  
Tuesday, July 24, 2001  
afternoon**

Mara was halfway through the Italian spell book before things slowed down in the store enough for her to ask Giles for a Los Angeles phone book. She knew from Willow and Giles' memories that Los Angeles was the closest big city; that it was in fact one of the largest cities on the western coast of the United States. Flipping to the "D" section of the business pages, Mara trailed a fingernail down the page looking for her father's name.

Dagan had, of course, left this earth millennia ago, but centuries after his death when his descendants had begun to move apart and further away from their original home, those of his children who were still alive, Immortal, decided to keep track of the family as much as possible, and so the Dagan Group began. A few centuries ago, when businesses became more prominent in society, the name was changed to The Dagan Corporation, with many business ventures under its control, including banks where the family funds and individual accounts could be protected from snooping officials and record keepers who allowed the Immortal members of the family to change identities when necessary to avoid detection. The service was also available to mortal family members who might need it for various reasons.

The last time Mara had been actively involved in the world, she knew there had been a branch office of the Corporation in at least one major city in every country in the world, though some of them were no more than a single room with one person who could connect inquirers with a larger branch. It stood to reason that with the advances made since that time that the company would be even more widespread now, which is why she was starting her search with Los Angeles. If that failed, she could try New York next. Luckily, there was indeed a listing for The Dagan Corporation in the book.

Mara dialed the phone in the back room, needing to keep her conversation as private as possible. Her call was answered on the second ring by a friendly male voice.

"The Dagan Corporation, how may I direct your call?"

"This is Mara Dagan, I need to speak with whoever is in charge of my account."

"Let me put you on hold just a moment, Miss Dagan," the voice responded, a touch of excitement now in his tone. "I'll connect you with Mrs. Selton, our branch president."

"Thank you."

Mara waited for a few moments, listening to lively flute music, before the phone was again answered by a friendly tone, this one female and a bit more firm.

"Miss Dagan, this is Mrs. Selton. I will need to verify your identity before I can give you any information."

"Of course," Mara answered immediately, having known this was coming.

It would take more than just questions to completely verify her identity and give her access to her fortune, especially after so long spent in the Realms. But in order to even find out where she would have to go for the final verification, she'd have to pass the preliminary screening. For nearly half an hour she was asked question after question about her own personal history, including where she was born and when, as well as questions about her family and historical events she had been present during.

"Alright, Lady Mara," Mrs. Selton said when Mara had answered all her questions correctly. "Unfortunately the Verifications Department of the western hemisphere is in New York City, but I can send you temporary identification and some money to tide you over until you can travel there. I take it from your current location that it may be some time until you can do so?"

"It might be. I take it from your form of address that at least one of my titles is still active?"

"Yes. Since you became the Guardian this last time, the Records Department has set up a system where you are the current holder of each title in succession, with older members of the family taking over the former title when 'you' reach an age you wouldn't be able to convincingly pull off were you to come back. The current title is that of Lady Raven."

"I see." Mara continued, "Well, if you could send those things to me here as well as the contact information for the New York branch, I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course, Lady Mara," Mrs. Selton responded. After getting the Magic Box's address from Mara, she said, "It has been an honor being able to assist you, Lady Mara. It is so rare to hear from one of the children of Dagan and Malia."

"Thank you for your help, I'll be sure to tell the New York branch how well you're doing your job."

They said their good-byes, Mrs. Selton promising the delivery of Mara's package the next day, and Mara hung up the phone. She spent the rest of the day getting to know Anya better… learning more of Anya's time as a human than she'd really cared to because of the former demon's tendency to talk both quickly and a lot… and going through the knowledge she'd gained from Giles and Willow the day before to better acclimate herself to the current time period. Things in the Realms remained pretty much the same since the time they had been created, and a lot had happened in the world during the two hundred years she'd been gone. It was quite an adjustment.

That night she returned with Willow to the apartment the young woman shared with her boyfriend. Oz would not be back until the next day, his band performing that night and staying in a hotel before returning. Willow was tired from a long day at work, so she made an early night of it. Mara was not yet ready to sleep and went outside for a while to exercise in the small park across the street from the apartment building. Amazingly, considering everything she knew about the town situated on a hellmouth, she was not interrupted by any of the less savory citizens of the night.

When she was pleasantly worn down, Mara went back inside and once more made her bed on the couch. That night she once more dreamt of the vampire with a soul, getting to know more about Angel's formative years, proving beyond a doubt that what she was seeing was more information than could possibly have been gleaned from the life flash she had shared with Willow and Giles. Something strange was going on… and Mara was forced to admit to herself that she had no wish to stop it.

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**Former Hyperion Hotel  
Los Angeles, CA  
Wednesday, July 25, 2001  
very early morning, hours before sunrise**

"Is it dead?" Cordelia asked as soon as Angel, Wesley and Faith walked into the lobby.

The three had just gotten back. Gunn had already left for the day several hours before and Fred, Angel was sure, was up in room she had adopted as her new "cave" since returning with them from Pylea. Lorne was sitting beside Cordy on the round couch that resided in the middle of the lobby floor, probably there so that he was in easy reach in case the headache she had gotten from her earlier vision got worse. That very vision was what Cordy was referring to, having seen the rising of a new vampire who, if they didn't get there in time, would kill his young, pregnant widow.

"Dusted," Faith answered Cordy's question simply.

"We were able to get there before he could feed on the woman," Angel expanded when Cordy looked dissatisfied with Faith's reply.

"Yes, well," Wesley spoke when a full minute of silence followed Angel's words. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm exhausted. We had a long day, and this last minute mission didn't help matters. Angel, unless you need me for anything else, I'll be headed home."

"Night, Wes," Angel said in response.

"I'll help Cordy get to bed."

"Thanks, Lorne," Angel replied.

The red-horned green demon wrapped a supportive arm around the brunette before they walked at a moderate pace to and up the main staircase.

"Did I ever thank you?" Faith asked Angel when they were alone.

He turned to stare at her with his eyebrows raised. "For what?"

"For giving me a chance," she answered quietly. "For even bothering to come and get me at the prison when I got out two months ago."

XxX Flashback XxX

"_Faith," the guard greeted when he stepped into view through the door of her cell._

"_George," she responded in the same tone._

_Faith had been a model prisoner, keeping to herself whenever possible and never giving the guards a hard time. And because of her various run-ins with other inmates trying to "put her in her place," they all knew she was more than capable of doing them serious physical harm. George was one of the guards who'd struck up a sort of friendship with her, appreciating her dry wit and sarcastic, street-wise intelligence, and the fact that if you looked out for her, Faith looked out for you._

_George himself had been spared what he was sure would have been at the very least a nasty shank wound when Faith had yelled a warning two days after he had slipped her a newspaper she'd asked for. Faith had been jumped by a group of the would-be attacker's friends a few days later, but she'd held her own against them, George eventually pulling her away in protection of her attackers' lives as opposed to any danger to Faith._

_George took a glance around her solitary cell, noting the bare walls and cleared shelf surface before asking, "Got everything?"_

_Faith slightly hoisted the cardboard box in her hands in answer. There wasn't much in it, just a few odd little things she'd found out in the yard… an unusual rock, an old bird's nest… along with magazine and news articles she'd kept taped to her walls and a few origami cranes and frogs she'd learned to make with a book from the prison library. But despite the meagerness of her possessions, they were _hers_ and she was loathe to part with them._

_With a nod, George stepped to one side to let Faith precede him out of the cell. Mitch, George's more stoic partner, led the three-person procession out of the solitary cell hallway, past the general population block, and to the Administrator's office._

_The woman behind the counter opened the large manila envelope with her name– simply "Faith" – and prisoner number on it and read off the list of items she'd had in her possession when she was brought to the prison. Wallet, chapstick, twenty three dollars and seventy four cents in cash, and a butane lighter. Faith was already wearing the clothes she'd had on that eventful day what felt like a lifetime ago. She'd tossed her stake, knives and other weapons before turning herself in; they'd have to be replaced once she was on the outside again. After signing the necessary release form and distributing the items into her pockets, Faith picked up the box she had set down and followed Mitch toward the prison's exit._

"_Good luck, Faith," George told her when they reached the point that she would continue on her own. "Don't do anything that'll get you back in here."_

_Faith smiled sardonically at him. "Watch your back, George. I won't be here to do it for you."_

_George laughed, then asked, "You gonna tell me how it is you're getting out at all?"_

_The whole prison had been abuzz when the word had gotten out that the President himself had pardoned her. Faith was sure there were many rumors out there on why he would have done so, none of them anywhere near the truth. Of course, only she, the President and one other person knew the truth, and Faith wasn't sure just how much the President actually knew and how much of it was just a favor for that other person._

_What none of them knew was that she'd actually been out on a little "field trip" for what, to her perspective at least, had been the last six months. But when her guide had sent her back to her cell, Faith had been relieved to find that less than a minute had passed in the middle of the night. Lord only knew how she would have explained it if anyone had noticed her absence or what trouble it would have caused._

_She studied George for a moment before answering cryptically, "It never hurts to have friends in high places."_

"_Someone picking you up?" Mitch finally added to the conversation. "This is a lot later than the usual release time. A bus won't be coming out here until tomorrow morning."_

_Faith glanced at the dark sky above them, the sun having set half an hour before, and frowned thoughtfully._

_She shrugged, "Well, if anyone _was_ coming, now would be the time."_

_The two guards looked somewhat confused, but waved her off when she said goodbye. Faith walked to the last gate alone, the man stationed there letting her through without comment. Her heart sank momentarily when she didn't see anyone waiting, but then the tail end of a black car caught her eye on the other side of the bus stop. Walking slowly, her heart in her throat, Faith felt relief wash over her the further she moved, seeing more of the car and recognizing it._

_The only person… and she used the term loosely… to come visit her (at least the old fashioned way) during her incarceration was leaning against the trunk of the vehicle. When he saw her, he gave her a tight smile before turning around to unlock the trunk. When Faith reached his side and set the box inside the trunk, she turned and gave him a real smile._

"_Hey, Boss."_

XxX End Flashback XxX

"Faith," Angel responded gently. "I told you when you first came to me before you went to jail that I would help you in any way I could. You don't have to…"

"Yes, Angel, I do." Angel was somewhat startled by Faith's passionate rebuttal, and he fell silent, letting her finish. "After everything I did, everyone I hurt, you're still willing to give me more than nearly anyone else ever has. So, thank you, Angel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"You're welcome," he responded, not knowing what else to say.

He watched, a bit surprised, as Faith's eyes grew misty. The usually tougher than nails Slayer turned away for a full minute before facing him again, her usual blasé face in place.

"Can I ask what brought that up?" Angel asked quietly.

Faith hesitated visibly for only a second. "When that girl thanked me tonight for saving her life and her baby's… it reminded me that I hadn't thanked you yet. But I had to wait til the others were nowhere nearby. They tend to doubt and overanalyze everything that comes out of my mouth." Faith was quick to add, "Not that I blame them in any way."

"They'll come around," he assured her, knowing in his non-beating heart that Faith was honest and serious about her turn around this time from watching her carefully the past two months.

With a weak, disbelieving smile, Faith turned away and whispered good night before heading for the room she had claimed as her own.

Angel sighed and headed to his office to write down the details of the night's kills, three vampires, one of them newly risen. After recording the two names they'd heard the vamps call each other as well as physical descriptions of all three, Angel leaned back in his chair, staring unseeingly at the wall safe where the Scroll of Aberjian was securely held. His thoughts drifted once more to the Slayer in residence.

When Faith had turned herself in for killing the now-deceased mayor of Sunnydale's secretary (and the assaults committed in Los Angeles) and gone to jail, Angel had thought he would only ever see her again with a sheet of bulletproof glass between them. So it had been a surprise when he'd found a visitor with some unexpected news waiting for him when he and the gang had returned from Pylea.

XxX Flashback XxX

_"It's good to be home," Angel announced as he walked into the lobby of the former Hyperion Hotel._

_He stopped short at the sight of a figure standing in the middle of the space, the others falling in around him to stare at the woman. Her face was beautiful in a classic way, exuding the feeling of coming from a different era. But she was also clearly not completely human, her long hair snow white in color while her eyes were bottomless black pools that contrasted sharply with her hair and pale skin. The power that emanated from her made his demon cower in fear, and Angel had the sudden feeling that this wasn't an average 'I need your help' visitor._

"_Hello, Angel," she greeted as if she knew him. "May we speak in your office? In private, please."_

_Angel glanced at his friends-slash-employees. Fred, hiding behind Wesley, was peering curiously at the strange woman. Wesley, seeing the request in Angel's eyes, spoke gently to the skittish girl they'd rescued from the demon dimension, leading her around the outer edge of the room to the stairs, from there leading her to a room they would let her have as long as she needed one._

_Cordelia sighed and fingered one of the lengths of fabric making up her skirt. "As fun as it was being a Princess until the whole killing me thing, I think I'm going to go change before I get mistaken for a prostitute again."_

_The headstrong seer had not been amused when a man had approached her outside of what was left of Lorne's club, believing her to be a themed escort. Angel foresaw plenty of teasing from Wes and Gunn for months to come about that._

_Gunn cleared his throat, "I'm gonna head to my crib. Make sure I didn't get any squatters while I was gone. I'll be back in the morning."_

"_Alright," Angel acknowledged._

_That just left he and Lorne and the woman who had yet to move from her spot in the middle of the floor. Lorne was staring intently at the woman while she gazed impassively back at the green demon with red horns._

"_I don't know whether or not to ask you to sing for me," he finally commented, his voice a little breathy._

"_It's probably better that you don't." A slight smile curved her lips, and she added, "I have a horrible singing voice."_

_Lorne laughed lightly in appreciation of the joke before turning to find a room among those in the hotel to call his own now that his club, his place of employment as well as where he had lived, had been destroyed by the return trip from Pylea._

_Their visitor turned her dark eyes expectantly on Angel._

"_This way," he motioned toward his office door. "Miss…?"_

"_It's just Eve," she answered, sweeping through the door and into one of the chairs set before his desk._

"_So, Eve," Angel asked when he had seated himself, "how can Angel Investigations be of service to you?"_

"_It can't," she answered, continuing before he could ask why she was here then. "I'm here to ask a favor of you personally."_

_He settled back in his chair and studied her. "Do we know each other? Because you seem to be familiar with me even though I'm fairly sure I've never seen you before."_

"_That's complicated, and not important right now. I'd like to talk to you about you letting Faith join your group."_

_That got his attention. He leaned forward._

"_If we're talking about the same Faith, she's in prison. And the cops know I'm a friend of hers. Here is the first place they'd look for her. As much as I want to help Faith, hiding her as a fugitive wouldn't cut it."_

_Eve shook her head. "No one from the police force will come looking for her. She's received a Presidential Pardon. She'll be released from jail, legally, tomorrow evening."_

_Angel's mouth hung open for a minute. "How did she get a Presidential anything, let alone a full pardon?"_

"_I arranged it," Eve answered calmly. "Faith is the Slayer, the world needs her. But more importantly, there are _people_ who will need her soon. Now, will you pick her up and let her stay?"_

_Filing away her use of the word 'the' instead of 'a', Angel nodded._

"_Of course." He sighed unnecessarily, scrubbing a hand tiredly over his face. "I just hope she's found a little balance in jail. We don't want a repeat of what happened right before she went in."_

"_No need to worry about that," Eve informed him. "Jail did help Faith to calm down a bit by providing an odd but needed stability, but for the last six months she's been traveling with me, doing what she is meant to, what she was born to do. It's allowed her to start healing."_

_Once more Angel was slack-jawed, this time in complete disbelief. "That's impossible," he said when he found his voice. "I just saw her three weeks ago at the prison, and she's only been _in_ jail for a few months."_

_Eve smiled tightly. "Have you ever met a Time Jumper before, Angel?"_

_That explained things. Time Jumpers could, as their name implied, jump through time, some by choice, others by some higher design. If Eve was a Time Jumper, she could easily have retrieved Faith from jail and traveled with her six months (or more) and returned her to the timeline with no one the wiser. It could also potentially explain how she knew him; they could very well meet again sometime in his future and yet to her it could already have happened._

_Feeling much calmer about the whole situation, Angel nodded. "I'll take her in. I did promise to help her. I meant it."_

XxX End Flashback XxX

Eve had disappeared after giving him the information on when to pick Faith up from the prison. In the two months since he'd retrieved her, Faith had proven to him through her actions that she was indeed healing from everything she'd been through. She'd even tried making amends with Cordelia and Wes, who, if not quite ready to forgive her for what she'd previously done, at least treated her less like a leper now than they did when he'd first brought her to the hotel.

Angel had always felt connected to the Dark Slayer because both of them, in their own ways, had dark pasts that they were never allowed to forget. But now he was getting closer to her as a friend, an equal. He almost looked at her as a sister figure, or, God forbid, a Childe. Shaking aside the terrible vision of Faith as a vampire, Angel acknowledged to himself that from the way she had begun confiding in him when the others weren't around, he thought Faith reciprocated.

And although she'd helped many people in her duties as a Slayer, he was still waiting for what Eve had meant by her words to become clearer. Aside from him, who was Faith so important to?


End file.
